Stillers-Bengals Postgame Analysis and Grades

November 14, 2011 by Still Mill

Stillers 24, Bungals 17 ��� Nov. 13, 2011

Stillers
24, Bengals 17� ��.
Nov. 13, 2011 ����Game #10

Stillers-Bengals Postgame Analysis and Grades

The
Stillers roared out to a 14-0 lead after 2 series, and it seemed like the rout
was on.�� Of course, sure enough, the
offense sputtered, the defense softened, and it was a claw-fest in the 2H, with
the Stiller clawing just enough to eke out a 7-point win over the Bungals.��

Grades:

QB:� Ben had an up and down game, with lots of
spots.��

He
misfired to a wide open Cotch for TD, 2d series, inc.��� Then, he had a
screen pass batted, next play.�� No one
throws a worse screen than Ben and Pitt�s TinoSunseri.���� Mid 2Q,
horrible force into double coverage on flag to Brown, INT was dropped.���� Poor decision and poor pass.��� A miracle this pass wasn�t picked.��� Good strike to Brown on slant, 21 yards,
late 2Q.�

�Ben held ball forever, REFUSED to throw ball
away, 2d & 7, early 3Q.�� -2.��� Nearly fumbled as well.���� Triple clutched, 1st & 10 Cin 19, sack, -2, 3:08 3Q.��� Overthrew Wally on deep
post, Wally open, 3d & 12 early 4Q.��
No loft at all on the pass.�� To
Ben�s credit, he hit some clutch passes in the 2H.�� And the INT obviously was not his
fault.���� B��

I
wasn�t particularly pleased with how either man read or ran in the 4Q, and
apparently, neither was Tomlin.� On the
late drive, which began at 2:27 4W, it was Moore who was lined up at RB.�� Moore had a good 5-yard run.��������� B-

FB:� �Johnson
had a couple ok lead blocks from the FB spot.��� Essex lined up at FB on the Mendy TD
plunge, 2d series.�� ���Inc�

WR:� Brown led the way with 5 grabs for 86.��� He had a great bobble catch, 3d & 19,
got 21, mid 2Q.�� Great grab, back-shoulder out, 18 yards, late 2Q.�� Watching this young man flourish before our
very eyes is amazing.��

Wally
had 6 grabs for 54.�� He had a good read
on a 15 yard end around, 1st series.��
Good end around run, 2d series, 16 yds....busted
tackles !!����� Had
a woeful drop of an out pass, 3d & 4, 10:55 4Q.��� Good RAC, 0-step hitch, late in game, got 7
on 2d & 5, which iced the game.�� ��

TE:� Miller had 3 grabs for 31.�� Great catch, 3d & 10, drilled but hung on !!��� 18 yards.� Can�t
believe no flag was thrown on this play.�
Johnson and Miler had good blocks on Mendy�s
first TD run.���� Miller had a foolish bobble
on short out-dump, which was INT�d, early 2Q.�� This gave Cinci a freebie FG.����� Good churn, 3d & 6,
plowed for extra yardage and got the 1D.��
Miller also committed a foolish OPI penalty that wiped out Cotch�s 2nd TD grab.��

Johnson
grabbed a 5 yard curl 4Q.��

Saunders
had a clutch grab, eluded tackler, got 10 yards and 1st down at 2:12 4Q.��� This was basically the same play that
Johnson dropped last week.��

The
bobbled INT and the OPI hampers this grade, which otherwise would have been
better.��� B��

OL: A nice start, but
then this crew slumped into mediocrity for much of the final 3 quarters.��

Foster
started at RG.�� He was abused by OLB
Manny Lawson, Ben hit hard, 4:00 2Q.��

Kemo
had his typically half-assed game.� He was
beaten by rusher on 3d & 2, which forced a dumpoff to Redman for -8.���
He stepped back onto Ben�s foot, Ben lost shoe, -6, mid 2Q.���� Totally abused by Atkins
for sack, late 2Q, 3d & 7 on Cinci 10.���

Gilbert
was shoved back and bullrushed, sack, mid 2Q.�� Pouncey played
solidly at center.�������� B-

Keisel:
good stop running play, early 2Q.��� Good
stop of Benson, 2Q.� -1.���

Hampton
had a rare stuff of Scott, no gain, 3d series.��� Totally grappled and engaged on a Benson up
RG, 6 yards, early 3Q.��� Hood was poor
as well on this play.�� Casey rabidly
over-played plunge, HUGE cutback lane, 17 yards, late 4Q.�� Very poor.

Hood:� Rare tackle, Benson run up RT, but 5 yard
gain, 1st play, 3Q.� ��Didn�t do all that much overall.��������� B-�

LB:� Harrison had a solid game.�� He allowed an end around �round his end, 7
yards.���� Drew hold flag, late 3Q, on
edge rush.�� Stuff of
Benson, 1 yard, 3:09 4Q.��

Farrior
was okay, although the middle of the defense was gashed for huge chunks of
yards in the 2H.��� He made a good stop
of Leonard, late 2Q, on plunge, 4 yards.��

Timmons:
like Farrior, he was responsible for some of the nice chunks of yardage in the
2H.��� He grabbed an INT off a Gay swat
in the 4Q.� He had an entirely jack-ased, foolish late-hit penalty, which gave Cinci and 1
& G rather than a 3 & G.� Really dumb, and sophomoric.�

Foote
saw a fair amount of PT at ILB.�� He was
inserted at 10:00 2Q, with Timmons going to LOLB.�� Foote was totally abused by Grisham, TD
pass, 3Q.��� Slower than fuking molasses....a hideous
mismatch.�� ����

Worilds
showed some potential and also showed some lack thereof.�� He ever disengaged, 11 yard run up RT, late
1Q.�� Got driven onto
his back.����� Played it like
shit, 3d & 3, WR pitch-run, got 4, early 2Q, in which he got sucked
inside.��� Good pressure on Dalton, speed
rush around corner against the RT, late 2Q, forced TA.�� He applied pressure, 3d & 5 early 4Q,
misfire on out.�� Quick -- give this man a
$30M contract extension!�� ������B-

DB:� Facing a rookie QB, the secondary had a
fairly easy time, especially when star WR Green AJ Green went down to injury in
the 1H.��

Ike
had solid coverage throughout the game.��
He had a key bustup, 3d & 5, 2nd series.�� Deep ball 7:45 4Q, clanged off Ike�s
hands.��� Shoulda
been an INT.��

Gay,
who was 1 of last week�s goats, had a big day.��
He had a �bustup,
3d & long, 1st series.��� He then busted
up slant, 2d series.��� He swatted a pass
away from a WR�s hands, and Timmons got a key INT in the 4Q.��� Then, of all things, Gay actually READ a QB,
and got an INT, 2:27 4Q !��

Ryan
Clark showed his true colors today, getting spun around like a top and never making
a play on the ball on the Green TD, late 1Q.��
You could insert this guy at safety into a high school game, and
instruct the opposing QB to throw the ball 35 times.....and Clark would still
never make an actual play on a ball in flight.�
He was then too slow to come over and provide coverage on Cochart, 25 yards, early 3Q.���� He was slightly injured, 4:00 4Q.�� Mundy entered the game, and promptly whiffed
on the 17-yard run.�

Pola
had a mostly good game, with a wart.���
He flashed in, 2nd play.��� Tooled by Hawkins, flag route, 25 yards, late 1 Q.��� A few plays later, never
made play on deep ball in EZ, TD late 1Q.� �The
ball arrived, literally 10 inches from Pola�s body,
and he simply stared in amazement as the ball softly floated into Green�s hands
for a TD.�� He looked as stunned &
bewildered as a Penn St. grad assistant spotting a coach and a little boy in
the locker-room shower.��� On a short out
Hawkins, Pola flash up and topple!!���
Spun him like a pinwheel!����
Lassoed Leonard, -1, late 2Q.��
Beaten by Hawkins, 3d & 3, last play of 3Q.��

Allen
made a good open-field tackle on 4Q 3d & 14 dump-off to Hawkins, only 4
yards.� Well done.��� �����B+�

Spec
teams:� Some good, some bad.�

Shit
KO coverage after 1st TD, Suisham had to make stop.����� Shit punt
coverage early 4Q�� Fadden, good stop in
KO cover, late 1Q.�� Timmons
good stop on punt cover, early 3Q.�

There
were far too many flags on STs.�� Carter
had a hold on a KO return.�� Both Red and
Fadden were flagged for holds on a Cinci punt into the EZ.��

Mundy
had a hold on a Steeler punt in the 4Q.�

Kapinos had a decent day, but late in the game,
there were problems.�� Had
a good 55-yard punt, mid 2Q.���
Good 57-yard punt, early 3Q.���� Had
a �44-yard punt
early 4Q, but weak hang-time.��� Good
53-yard punt, no catch, hit ground, downed at Cinci 8.��� 43-yard punt, shit hang time, returned 16
yards, 4:51 4Q.�

Twice,
idiot punt coverage men allowed a punt to bounce and roll backwards.� It was like they were stunned and bewildered
that the ball would actually roll backwards, and knew not what to do.��� Suisham, 39-yard FG, late 2Q.�����
����C+� ��

OC:� Arians had his way with the Cinci defense
early on, producing 2 nice drives for 14 points.� Cinci adjusted after that,
run-blitzing on nearly every down and playing a devil-may-care defense.�� Arians played right into their hands, with a
plethora of counter runs, and passes that took 5 seconds to develop.�� This brought a deluge of heat on the QB and
forced many hasty throws, hits on the QB, and sacks.�� Quick passes to the TE and to Wally went out
the window for no apparent reason.��� The
4Q brought some mindless, brain-dead series in which Arians was trying to run
out the clock.....with eons of time remaining!������ C+�

DC:� Dick once again had the luxury of feasting on
a rookie, greenhorn QB.��� He received
further luxury when the best big-play threat on the Bengals, AJ Green, was
injured on his TD catch and returned for only 1 more play before sitting out
the final 43 minutes due to a leg injury.�

There
were still a lot of 3rd down freebies that Cinci converted with all the ease of
shooting fish in a barrel.�� And the pass
pressure was weak and flaccid.�

Don�t like the shit technique by Steeler DBs
that fail to make plays on balls in flight?��
Blame their def coordinator, the man who is supposedly a �Hall of
Famer�.�� If anyone should be coaching
and preaching TECHNIQUE, it should be Dick.��
Obviously, it�s not happening.��

Two�
turnovers !���
Gee, what a pleasant surprise....especially after LeBeau himself had
petitioned the federal government just last week to place turnovers on the
endangered species list.�� ����������C+

HC:� Tomlin had the team re-focused after last
week�s disgusting loss to Balt.�� I hated the game mis-management
late in the 1H.�� Cinc was stopped on a 1st down plunge, yet the clock
ticked and ticked away.��� Why no timeout
after that 1st Leonard plunge??��� Tomlin
finally used a timeout later in that series, but by the time Cinci punted, the
half had ended.� This guy simply has no
clue how to strategize during the last 2:00 of a half.�� None.������ B ���

Synopsis:� A nice win over a division rival.� Coupled with Balt�s
hilarious loss to lowly Seattle, the Stillers are sitting nice at 7-3 going
into their bye week.�� Obviously, what
Tomlin must do, coming out of the bye, is to ensure rabid complacency does not
overtake this team, which has a far too thin margin for error to become soft
and complacent.��

(Still
Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no
one else comes close�.)